thursday. big news in the world of football, but this could have ramifications way beyond that when it comes to accusers in sex assault in big college football towns. you're looking at pictures of a really good football player. this is fsu quarterback jameis winston, so he had been accused of raping a young woman, the incident apparently taking place about a year ago. so we had just been waiting for the big moment, which has now happened in florida. florida state attorney willy mags officially announcing moments ago that winston would not be facing charges. in case you missed it, let me play that for you first. >> i know there's been a lot of concern about the length of time that we've taken to complete our investigation. but i want to assure you that our timing should not and has not been driven by any heisman demands or football schedule. as we do with every case that comes before us, we wanted to be confident in the decision we make and make sure we make the right decision. i have been in law enforcement

nearly 50 years. and my prosecution experience has taught me that we need to handle each case equally and fairly. and it's a search for the truth. we did so in this case. our city has two universities, major universities here. and we have dealt with athletes on prior occasions, and made decisions at some time to prosecutor them if the facts merited it. we have carefully examines all of the evidence in this case and have concluded that no charges will be filed against anyone in this case. >> there you have it. that is the headline. i want to talk about this with a number of people at the top of the show. we have cnn's legal analyst and former prosecutor sunny hostin, prosecuted many a rape case, and also former falcons player jamaal anderson, and cnn's martin savidge. big news for folks in tallahass tallahassee. martin, let me begin with you

because this percolated. this was a drip, drip slowly. a lot of questions over why this happened and why it took -- we're two days shy of a year to finding out what his feat would be. >> december 7th, 2012, is when this young lady called authorities to report what she said was a rape. yet, why is it here it is now almost a year later when we get the results, which is on the eve of a championship weekend, and on the eve of the heisman trophy voting. >> four days from voting. >> how is it the timing could come down to this? this is what has people bothered even though we believe the judicial system has worked appropriately here. the question is what happened to the initial investigation. why was it taken over a year, and no one seems to have answered at this particular time. but we do know when the local authorities began investigating, they suddenly stops in february. they say it is because the victim stopped communicating with him and she implied to them

she no longer wanted to move forward with the investigation. her attorney and her family said that was never the case. why did it suddenly stop? it picked up again after the media picked up on it. >> there was a clear sigh of relief on your end. you said this is a good kid. from the legal angle, and to martin's point, it seems like from what i read, there are two stories. basically the police version saying he wasn't talking, she wasn't talking. ultimately, according to the accuser's attorney, they were going to drop the charges. then according to the accuser and her attorney, they had a different story. i want to quote before i move along, this is one quote from the detective here in tallahassee, florida, as far as questions may be within this police department. this is the detective, according to this accuser's attorney. tallahassee is a big football town and the victim needs to think long and hard before proceeding against him because she will be raked over the coals and her life will be made miserable. you can see that as two ways,

saying, hey, listen, back off. back off on this, or it could be, if you go forward with this, just be prepared, this is going to be a big fight. >> yeah, if that was truly said, that is not the way you speak to an alleged victim of rape. i have spoken to many rape victims, of course, during the course of my career as a prosecutor of sex crimes, and you dowarn vims. you say, listen, this is going to be a hard thing you're going through. this is going to go through, trials are very challenging. especially when there's this defense of consensual sex. it's going to be your word against his word. please be prepared. but to say your going to be raked over the coals because this is a famous football player is ridiculous. when you look at the case and exactly what the prosecutor said, the chief prosecutor, keep in mind he said when we bring cases, we have to, quote, have a reasonable likelihood of a conviction. what that tells me is perhaps they think something happened but they can't prove it, and that is the burden of a prosecutor. it's not what happened.

it's what you can prove. when you look at the facts of the case, you're talking about a girl who says she had five to six shots of alcohol, whose memory was very broken. that in any circumstance, regardless of whether or not the suspect is a football player, a famous one, it is very difficult to prove a case like that. >> nevertheless, he's facing no charges. jamaal anderson, he is a red-shirt freshman. first year playing. if he were to win the heisman, we were saying johnny football was the first freshman, last year, a good player. >> a very good player. brooke, the only team in college football who had a first-round quarterback last year was florida state. when you lose a first-round quarterback and have a red-shirt freshman come in and do what he haas done, obviously, several talented, talented player on the team, in fact, most of the times they look like a pro team, but this is a two-sport star who brings his talent level, tremendous amount of enthusiasm,

energy, leadership. plays baseball as well. you watched, weeks ago, they had a huge game in clemson. here is this red-shirt freshman standing in the hallway, giving everybody fives and telling them we're ready to go. one of the younger guys on the team, but the lyeader of the team. this would have been heartbreaking for them. >> do you think that this is absolved, do you think this will affect any voting for the heisman or not? >> it's going to be interesting. i would hope it does not. i would hope it does not. obvio obviously, the season is not over. we have a couple more championship games coming up this weekend. he's clearly one of the front runners for the heisman trophy, if not the front runner. i would hope that now that the legal proceedings have played out, there are no charges, it shouldn't affect any voter from choosing jameis winston. >> thank you, appreciate you being here with me. jameis winston. by the way, his attorney will give his reaction to this afternoon's big announcement. that happens just about an hour and a half from now. we'll have live coverage of

that. stay tuned. an american teacher named ronny smith was shot and killed in benghazi days before he was reportedly set to return home for the holidays. blood stains on the street mark the spot where smith was gunned down during his morning exercise workout. he was exercising near the school where he taught chemistry. and it happened near the very same u.s. diplomatic mission where a u.s. ambassador and three other americans were killed last year in that bloody attack. and you know, this is libya. this is a dangerous place. this is a dangerous time. right now, we do not know who killed ronny smith. we don't know really the biggest question, why, but this is what we do know. in october, u.s. special forces went to libya and snatched an alleged al qaeda operative. this man, abu anosal libi. he's now charged in connection with the 1998 bombings on u.s. embassies in africa. i would like to bring in joe on the phone, cnn producer and

reporter in tripoli. recently, militants called for revenge for this al libi snatching. what are youhering from libyan officials as far as calls for revenge here? >> brooke, this is probably coming as news to libyan officials. we haven't heard anything regarding the killing of ronnie smith from libyan officials as of yet. no reaction from here, but to put things into context, the situation in benghazi, the security situation has really been deteriorating over the past few weeks. especially not just when it comes to western interests there that have been targeted even before the u.s. consulate attack last year and continued after that. on a daily basis, we're seeing libyan security forces, the government has been trying to really wrap up security there, sent in a special forces unit to try to control the situation. you have a lot of militia groups in that part of the country.

especially islamist militants, some of them extremist groups with ties to al qaeda. and really, the security forces there have come under attack almost on a daily basis. assassination, and as one libyan said to me today, this is one of four killings today in benghazi. >> given the dangers that you are outlining, i want to know why an american teacher would be exercising on the streets of benghazi. it can't be safe for an american? >> brooke, that's a big question. i was in benghazi a few months ago with my colleague, arwa damon, and really, the city has been emptied, pretty much, of westerners. all foreign diplomatic missions, pretty much, western diplomatic missions, have shut down and left their city. there have been continuous targeting of western interests in benghazi and the eastern part of the country, western governments, including the united states, have advised their citizens not to go to benghazi. it's a no-go zone pretty much

for westerners. this is a very big question. now, it remains to be seen who is responsible for the killing. was this a targeted attack, targeting him because he was an american? this remains to be seen, but the situation has been deteriorating and it has not been a friendly place, pretty much, for operation there for westerners. >> thank you so much, on the phone with us from libya right now. also, mexican authorities have found that stolen truck containing radioactive material. two men had held up the driver and his assistant monday. this is about 25 miles outside of mexico city. but apparently, bad news for the criminals here, apparently, they opened the container housing the dangerous radioactive element, cobalt 60, and experts believe the robbers are likely very sick from this exposure to radiation. a prosecutor said a truck was

transporting it from a hospital to a waste center when it was stolen. >> a story impacted millions of people across the country, the weather. it's cold, and these temperatures are leading to major power outages, flight delays. we'll take a close look at the forecast and the problems it's causing for so many of you, next. hi honey, did you get the toaster cozy? yep. got all the cozies. [ grandma ] with new fedex one rate, i could fill a box and ship it for one flat rate. so i knit until it was full. you'd be crazy not to. is that nana? [ male announcer ] fedex one rate. simple, flat rate shipping with the reliability of fedex. you give them the giggles. tylenol cold® helps relieve your worst cold and flu symptoms. but for everything we do, we know you do so much more. tylenol cold®.

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cortizone-10 has the strongest nonprescription itch medicine plus moisturizers to help heal skin fast. cortizone-10. feel the heal. okay, check the calendar. it's just about winter time. it's supposed to be cold. we should be seeing freezing rain in parts of the country, but the storm moving across the nation right now is taking wintry weather to ridiculous levels. take a look at this. first of all, beautiful in dallas yesterday. wonderful 80 degrees.

flash forward to tonight, freezing rain, sleet, and burr. a low of 26. do the math. that's a 54-degree differential. this is right before this weekend's dallas marathon. think of the runners running the 26.2 miles. the weather is expected to get so nasty american airlines has canceled nearly 500 flights out of dfw airport through tomorrow simply as a precaution, and the ice storm could be so harsh that hundreds of power workers from florida are heading west to arkansas, northwest arkansas, where exposed electrical lines could take a big hit from the ice. the national weather service warning electricity could be out for weeks, plural. >> denver, you woke up to a miserable cold this morning. double digits below zero. it feels even colder in many cities, like 20, 40 degrees below. if you don't live in the wintry strike zone, you could be

effected. cold weather could affect fruits, vegetables growing in california. that means for all of us higher prices when you go to the grocery store. jennifer grey is here with me. first, i have to say, welcome to you, jennifer grey. nice to have you on. welcome to the cnn family. >> thank you. >> let's talk cold weather. which is this supposed to be the worst? >> this is a huge arctic front, a cold blast of air from canada dipping down into the far south regions of the country. we're seeing ice, freezing rain. that's going to be the big problem, and right now, we're seeing it through portions of southern mississippi, northern ark a, and as the evening rolls on, we're going to see it move into the bigger cities, say dallas, little rock. and it's going to hit you guys right around the time you're trying to drive home from work. so the afternoon, the evening commute, could get really icy in the next couple of hours. so what we're talking about, accumulations of about half an inch or more, some places like dallas and little rock, up to paducah. this is going to cause major problems as far as downed power lines, trees, a lot of power

outages could be the result of this. farther to north, we're looking at snow through springfield, oklahoma city, and we could see anywhere from 4 inches or more of snow in these parts. so we have freeze watches and warnings and ice advisories going on all across the deep south. and this will continue not only for tonight, brooke, but as we get into tomorrow as well. >> okay, jennifer, thank you very much. and from the cold to at least some encouraging news for all of you watching this progress, these stranded pilot whales off the coast of florida. well, we have now learned that a number of them are moving into deeper waters, but experts say this is still a pretty tough situation for these whales. coming up next, we'll talk live to a man who knows a lot about this kind of thing, here he is, philipp cousteau. he's watching the situation. we'll talk about the challenges involved in this kind of operation when we come back. r s] ♪

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it has really been a touch and go situation in florida. this effort to save these dozens of pilot whales stranded on the beach, and in shallow water in florida's everglades national park, showing signs of progress this hour. just a short time ago, we here at cnn learned about 15 to 20 whales did move into deeper waters. that has been the goal for these rescuers really since yesterday. it is unclear how long these short-finned whales have been stranded, but we do know some fishermen spotted them tuesday. the whales, they appear distressed. some of them, as you can see from the pictures, have already

beached themselves. ten have already died. four had to be euthanized because of the poor conditions. i would love to bring in cnn special correspondent and environmentalist philipp cousteau, hoh of "going green" on cnn international. welcome to you. and first, let's just begin with the positive here, because it wasn't looking good for this group yesterday. now the development that, you know, now two dozen may be moving out to deeper waters. what are the chances that they actually survive? >> well, it's very touch and go at this point, brooke. you know, the challenge with these whales, they're very communal. they like to stay together. the fact that they have broken up the pod is a good sign, simply because you can see some of the whales are distressed, dihydrated. it gets shallow and hot. they're deeper water animals, usually living in thousands of feet of water and hunting deep. they probably haven't heaton for several days. several of them will be weak.

trying to get the healthier ones away from the shallow water and out to the ocean is a good sign, good news. >> from what i understand, it's a pretty isolated area of florida, that was part of the challenge of getting the rescuers out to the whales. you can see the rescuers in boats. can you explain to me the process of trying to get some of these whales out? >> well, it's a very difficult process. when you think about these whales, or at least a ton each. they can be 12 to 16 feet long, and you're dealing with an area while it's shallow, still is three dimensional, so there's yaarea for them to move around. the best you can do in such a remote place is get a few boats out, typically when you have mass strandings. in new england with the whales, they bring in flatbed trucks. maybe a helicopter. they have more machinery to deal with them. this far in a remote area, i spent a lot of time in the everglades, filming, is very remote and difficult just to try and use boats to corral the whales and use aluminum pipes,

banging under the pipes underwater to starling them and move them. >> really, pipes? >> i'm sorry? >> really, pipe snz. >> indeed, the whales are sensitive to sound, so the revving engines and also aluminum pipes they can bang in the water can help create a wall of sound that can drive the whales in a specific direction. i know that's one of the techniques they have been employing, and working hard to try to get the whales as quickly as possible back to deep water. it's positive. things are certainly looking up. i reported on this just a little bit ago, and it wasn't looking good, so this is good news. still, they're not out of the woods yet. >> hopefully with the school mentality, if they follow one another to this location, hopefully, they'll turn around and follow one another back out. philipp cousteau, thank you. >> we'll keep watching it. >> we will. up next, a unique behind the scenes look at the trainer that conductor s go through before driving a train. cnn has unique access to a

simulator that prepares people to operate a train. it's a question many people are asking after the deadly derailment in the bronx over the weekend. >> also, you probably use one of the above, gmail, twitter, facebook. millions of passwords were stolen from people who use this sites. we'll tell you who was targeted and how you need to protect yourself. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] everyone deserves the gift of all day pain relief. this season, discover aleve. all day pain relief with just two pills.

just about the bottom of the hour, i'm brooke baldwin. a second person injured in sunday's train derailment in new york has filed a claim against the operator, metro-north. his name, edward russell. he was seriously hurt when all seven train cars jumped the tracks sunday morning. he is asked for $10 million in punitive damages for negligence on part of metro-north, the mta, the city, and the state of new york. was the man behind the controls of the commuter train, william rockefeller jr., was he in a

daze, was he nodding off, or did he have in the words of his lawyer, highway hypnosis? whatever the case here, and they'll figure it out, the accident raises concerns about the dangers of drowsiness while operating any kind of vehicle, especially something so complex as a train. so many passengers' lives at stake. so joining me now is cnn's chris freights, and this is so amazing because you have this unique ability. you went to railroad engineer training school. you sat in the simulator to see what it's like to sit behind the throttle of a massive locomotive. what was it like? >> well, i tell you, brooke, i learned that it's a lot harder than it looks. there's so many things to take into account when you're in the cab of a locomotive. you have the signals, the throttle. there's two sets of brakes, and the train slows down and speeds up a lot slower than a passenger car. so you have to take that into account and be thinking moves ahead as you're coming down the track. and like a passenger car, though, there's been concerned

about leaving engineers alone, and one expert i talked to was very concerned about that. >> there's hundreds of trains as we speak that are running up and down the tracks with one person in the cab of the locomotive, and unfortunately, we're only human. >> so he says we're only human, chris, but what can be done to prevent the kind of -- what shall we call it, engineer futeelf fatig fatigue, that might have cause, might have caused the derailment over the weekend? >> when i spoke to dave at the academy, he said the easiest thing for folks to do is just put another engineer in the cab with the operator. so that you have two sets of eyes. >> like a copilot. >> like a buddy system -- like a co-pilot down the highway, your person sitting shotgun and they're making sure in a long drive that you're all right. >> how did you do in that simulator? >> well, i tell you what. i passed, so i was excited about that. >> nice work. >> i think that's more to do

with having the instructor over my shoulder and helping me along. and i found out that just like in a car, my lead foot translates to the train. i got bumped for speeding a couple times. the other really cool thing i was able to do here in chicago was take a ride on a commuter rail. i did that during this morning's rush hour. we'll have more of that tonight in "the situation room." >> good deal. we'll see you starting at 5:00 eastern. chris for us in chicago. thank you very much. now, to stunning new details about the reach of the nsa's spying program. according to the washington post, the agency gathers nearly 5 billion, that is billion with a "b" records every day that show the locations of cell phones all around the world. this is according to documents leaked by former nsa contractor edward snowden. translation, the nsa can track movements of individuals, keep track of anyone they then call. u.s. officials say the programs that cleblth and analyze

location data are lawful. they're intended to develop intelligence about foreign targets according to that report. if you're not too thrilled when you hear this latest news about the nsa allegedly tracking your every move, we have another story to make you feel uneasy as well. hackers. hackers have apparently stolen user names, passwords for nearly 2 million facebook, gmail, twitter, and yeahhue accounts. i have three of the four so i'm paying extra close attention, lori siegel, and you never want to hear that your password has been stolen, so explain the hack to me. how is this pulled off? >> you know, pretty big hack, too, brooke. it was a malware hack, so people received a link that many thought was legit. when they clicked on it, they basically put malware on their computer so the hackers could see their browsing history, they could gain access to many of the passwords from their accounts, and many were effected. 318,000 facebook accounts, passwords stolen.

gmail, 70,000, yahoo, 60,000, and twitter, 22,000. the scope was huge. >> the scope was huge, you also have the top six passwords collected. let me guess, one of them, 123456. >> you guessed it. one of the most unbelievable things. we saw the common passwords people are using. 123456, very common. also, people are still putting password as password. i cannot say enough, if you're doing that, don't do it. if thaz look like your password, change them immediately. now this information is out there, and for a strong password, you know, use many characters. have upper and lower case letters, symbols, that kind of stuff is important. i say the more creative you are, the easier it is to escape the hacker. >> i feel like most people are smart, they know that by now, but give me something else. what else can we do to protect ourselves from being hacked.

>> you think so, but 15,000 people are using those, so the numbers are unreal. install antivirus software. also, if you get a suspicious link, even if it's a friend, don't click on it because this is exactly how this happened in the first place. also, use separate passwords for different accounts, for your facebook and twitter. also important. so if god forbid. one of our passwords is compromised, you don't have to change all of them. >> thank you very much. we always need to repeat and pass that along. coming up next, a protest that included thousands of people in 100 cities. fast food workers walking off the job, onto the picket lines. look at the crowds. they say they deserve more money. and they want corporations to listen up. so did it work? are they listening? we're live, next.

mcdonald's, wendy's, crystal, kfc, we have all eaten there, right? millions of americans work there, and today, workers and union organizers gathered outside fast food joints in 100 cities to protest low pay at fast food joints. this is the third organized protest in a year, and it's the most widespread yet. the protesters want fast food workers to be paid $15 an hour. that's more than double the federal minimum wage at $7.25.

alison kosik is in the thick of the scene for us in new york. fewer people right now, but tell me what the people have been telling you who have been protesting and what are you hearing also from the corporations? >> you know, it's interesting, the protests here in brooklyn, this particular protest that wrapped up earlier this afternoon, it was kind of small, only about 60 people, but they carried with them a very bold message. they carried signs, and they walked right up to the wendy's doorstep and were chanting, can't survive on $7.25. meaning that's the wage on average they get now. but they're asking for federal minimum wage togo up to $15 because they say they want a livable wage. they can't survive on the money they're making more. a lot of people want to know, why are we hearing more and more about this these days? it's because of the recession. during the recession, we lost 8 million jobs. a lot of those jobs haven't come back. you're seeing people getting the

minimum wage jobs now just to survive, just to pay bills, and a lot of people working in these fields are 25 and older. 80% of the people in minimum wage jobs for 25 or older and this push is likely to continue because 6 out of the 10 fastest growing positions in the next decade are low-paying jobs. we'll see more and more of this if the wages do stay that low, brooke. >> alison kosik in brooklyn. let's stay on the economy. we learned today it grew more than anyone thought in the third quarter. the value of all the goods and services produced right here in the united states grew add an annual rate of 3.6%. that's great news. when you look at the stock market, let's take a quick peek. it's down just about 50 points. zain asher at the new york stock exchange for us. if we're talking gdp and that is up, why isn't the stock market mirroring that? >> well, what might seem like good news to you and i is certainly not good news to

traders on the floor. yes, gdp coming in pretty strong, 3.6%. certainly the best reading we had since the first quarter of 2012 when it came in at 3.7%. the problem is when you have good, strong economic numbers like that, people sort of start to begin to have a meaningful conversation about tapering, about the possibility of tapering happening sooner than expected, especially when the strong data is in line with other pieces of strong data we have gotten this week. jobless claims down by 23,000. also new home sales as well, good car sales, good strong numbers from the auto industry as well. but also, even though december is traditionally a good month in terms of rallying and stocks, we had a very good rally this year and now it's time for profit taking when you talk to traders downstairs. >> zain asher, thank you. coming up, a story we have been talking about all week long. this man went to prison 25 years for a crime he did not commit. he's a free man. now we talk to the man who helped free him.

and dozens and dozens of others. we'll ask him why he agreed to take on the case in the first place. the innocence project. we'll talk about that, next. yeah... try new alka seltzer fruit chews. they work fast on heartburn and taste awesome. these are good. told ya! i'm feeling better already. [ male announcer ] new alka seltzer fruits chews. enjoy the relief!

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the city of detroit may not have to sell a monet for money after all. a possible sale of detroit's city owned art collection which includes renoir, van go, could help close the city's massive gap. a preliminary estimate values the art in the area of $$fo62 t $850 million. christy's will list several ways the art could be used to help the city pay its bills without actually selling it. >> on tuesday, a federal judge ruled the city of detroit is eligible for the largest municipal bankruptcy in history. this could affect the pensions of thousands of former public serviceants, including a retired firefighter. dr. sanjay gupta has his story

in today's human factor. >> we need multiple ems, multiple firemen down. >> you're listening to the actual 911 call from august 13th, 2010. >> everybody here now. >> it's a day that began like any other, but one that would change firefighter brendan malusky's life forever. >> i remember we were working on the facade of the building, and somebody had yelled some sort of caution. and the bricks were kind of raining down in front of my face. and you're taught in a collapse situation to run towards the collapse, but your human instincts take over. i thought i had it beat. >> he knew right away his career as one of detroit's bravest was over. >> you see these war movies like "saving private ryan" when these guys are in combat, and you lose

sound. you can't hear anything. and it was exactly like that. i tried to place my hands on the ground in front of me and do a push-up, and when i did that push-up, i couldn't slide my knees to my chest. i couldn't, and i knew i was paraliezed and had a spinal injury. >> brandon spends three hours a day, three days a week at the rr rehabilitation institute in michigan. >> it's perfect. >> there are days when i question whether or not i'm okay mentally, but to me it's simple. i learned early on that i have a voice through this, and i have something to say, and i have a message. >> doogie, as he's known to his firefighting family, because he joined the department when he was just 20 years old, was even

featured in the award-winning documentary burn from denis leary. >> what happened to doogie in the movie is something that i think a lot of people would consider tragic. his resmauns to what happens to him is heroic. >> as much as i hate it's me and my story, i think it's something we need to open up people's eyes to. >> dr. sanjay gupta, cnn, reporting. >> sanjay, thank you very much. coming up at the top of the hour, new details emerging about the american teacher out exercising, ultimately killed in benghazi. why would someone want to kill him? we have more on the search for answers on that today. stay with me. [ female announcer ] we give you relief from your cold symptoms.

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falsely accused of his wife's murder in 1986, ripped from his precious 3-year-old son, districted and sentenced to spend the rest of his life in a texas prison, but after a 25-year battle, michael morton was exonerated. the real killer discovered from dna evidence. this is a story told in the cnn film entitled "an unreal dream" and michael morton talk s in vivid detail about the harsh reality of life, 25 years spent behind bars. >> when i first got to the texas penitentiary, the first thing they do is strip you naked and

search you. you're given a pair of state boxers. i realized the full gravity of the place because as i was standing in line to get my boots, i noticed a guy in front of me. i counted 13 stab wounds in his back. he had scars. >> bend over, spread your cheeks. >> it really drove home for me how very serious the place was, that they weren't playing. no time to joke around. nothing funny about this. and everybody was deadly serious. and you better get your heart right. >> joining me now, live, barry sheck, cofounder and co director of the innocence project, this tremendous organization responsible for the exoneration of more than 300 wrongfully convicted people, and barry, michael's case was one of them. congratulations belatedly to you

and your team. i can't imagine the phone calls, the e-mails, the pleas from so many people to try to get individuals behind bars exonerated. why take his case? >> well, michael's was one of the first cases that we got. and actually, his trial lawyer, great guy named bill allison, who was a professor at the university of texas law school, tried his case. in 1989, he came to me and said, barry, there have been very few instances, in fact to him, it was the only one where he had taken a case to trial and verdict where he was completely convinced that his client was innocent. you know, didn't know what to do. he said, here, you guys take this. it was a very, very long struggle. we were stopped from even getting dna testing for six years by a prosecutor in williamson county for six years. frankly, it was that refusal that led to his defeat and re-election. the judge, the person who prosecuted michael's case, a guy named ken anderson, became a

judge in that county. he pled guilty to criminal contempt for hiding exculpatory everyday in michael's case. he did ten days in jail, he was disbarred. now we're having an audit conducted by the criminal defense lawyers to see if he had done this in other instances. so michael's case really is of enormous importance, and he himself is such an extraordinary individual, that i think there is no one in america, you know, white, black, or brown, that couldn't identify with the story of leaving for work first thing in the morning and then all of a sudden by the afternoon, you know, your wife's been beaten to death in front of your 3 1/2-year-old child. and you're convicted of that murder. it's just unreal dream, as the documentary so well puts it. >> which airs tomorrow night. more i get word on michael, you brought up ken anderson.

i have to read the statement from his attorney. mr. anderson has not been and will never be prosecuted for any alleged crime in connection to the michael morton trial or any subsequent proceeding. he goes oin to believe that mr. morton's conviction resulted directly from the medical examiner's assessment of christine morton's time of death, a time where he was home with his wife. he has continued to express to mr. morton and his family the regret for the prosecution and incorrect incarcrashz. needed to get that in there. >> brooke, there's a serious problem. i don't know when he issued the statement, but he entered a no contest plea to criminal contempt. right? was disbarred, removed. he had to resign his judgeship, and he went to jail. >> ten days in jailering right? >> yeah, so how could he say he wasn't convicted of a crime? and frankly, this is the first time in the united states that we can remember that a

prosecutor actually went to jail and was convicted of a crime, criminal contempt in texas is a crime, and he went to jail. so if that's not a crime, i don't know what he's talking about. >> i hear you loud and clear. this is ken anderson. i want to end with michael morton. i was talking to one of the pro bono attorneys. he was telling me, the moment when he told, he and another delivered the news of this exoneration -- >> neal morrison, yeah. >> can you take me inside the moment when you saw michael for the first time? what did he say to you? >> you know, michael, by the way, has a book coming out that's -- that i have read that is absolutely terrific. he was stunned, of course. by all of this. but you know, when you are incent and you didn't commit the crime, the only issue is whether or not the truth will ever come out. and i think michael realizes how lucky he is, and that there are other people in prison that did not commit the crime, and the key thing to do is to try to

learn the lessons from his case. and one of the key lessons from his case, which it's clear to me that ken anderson hasn't learned, is that you don't hide exculpatory evidence. there's a lot that can be done to make sure that prosecutors don't do that. let me be the first to say it's not an epidemic, but it is not episodic either. when it happens and there are prosecutors who deliberately and willfully are hiding exculpatory evidence, they have to be held account. that's what happened with ken anderson. there are things we can do all across the united states, judges tomorrow, every state and federal court can issue brady orders that will bring about the same result we had in ken anderson's case. if they just do that, and we're trying every way to get it done. and michael's helping us. >> i met michael this week, shook his hand, and just can't imagine, cannot imagine being put away for a crime i didn't commit. barry shekt, truly heroic

efforts in everything you all do. thank you for joining me. i truly appreciate it. just again, let me remind you, watch this amazing cnn film, "an unreal dream" it is tonight, 9:00 p.m. eastern and pacific. only here on cnn. hour two. i'm brooke baldwin. you're watching cnn. we begin with this beloved american teacher named ronald thomas smith. he was shot and killed in benghazi just days before he was reportedly set to return home for the holidays. blood stains on the street mark the spot where smith was shot and killed during his morning exercise workout. near the school where he taught. this happened near the same u.s. diplomatic mission in which a u.s. ambassador and three other americans were killed last year in a bloody attack. it is a tenuous time in libya, very dangerous place for sure right now. we do not know who killed ronald smith or why. >> the president was briefed on

it during his morning briefing, and all i can say right now is i can confirm that a u.s. citizen was shot and killed in benghazi, libya. we offer our condolences to the victim's family. the state department is in contact with the family and is providing consular assistance. we're following events closely, and at this point, no individual or group has claimed responsibility. we look to the libyan government to thoroughly investigate this ki killing. out of respect for the privacy of the family, we have no further comment at this time. here's what we do know. in october, u.s. special forces went to libya and snatched this alleged al qaeda operative, this is the operative, abu anosal libi, charged in connection when the 1998 bombings on u.s. embassies in africa, and al qaeda members want revenge. let me bring in nic robertson. nic, i understand you have new details on ronald smith. what do you know?

>> yeah, this time, obviously, we pause to think about his family, his family he leaves behind a young son and a wife. he was a chemistry teacher at the international school in benghazi. he was out running in the morning when the gunman shot and killed him. there are reports even at the moment still unconfirmed reports about just how they went about shooting him down on the street, but very much in cold blood. this is a man whose students at the school loved him and appreciated him. the comments on social media, that he was an inspiration for them. that they liked having him there in benghazi. the principal at the school where he was teaching has said that he was loved and he was a really nice guy. so this, we're learning a little more about the man, not so much more about the killing. but he leaves behind, as we say, that young son and a wife, brooke. >> obviously, our thoughts with this family, but i just have to ask, you know, when we hear of

potential talk of revenge, you know what happened in benghazi, september of last year. why would an american be out jogging on the streets in the morning? >> it's a really tough question to ask. and one of the answers is, look, there's a demand in libya for teachers like him, for international schools because there's a real hope in libya that this -- that the country will recover from gadhafi, will recover from the militias, will rebuild. it's a rich country that wants to attract oil executives and their families from around the world. they need qualified, good quality american teachers like ronald smith to teach in international schools to attract that type of businessman. why was he running on the street when the city is so dangerous? we know there have been daily killings inside benghazi over the last several weeks. violence there has stepped up. it's tough to answer that right now, brooke. >> okay, nic robertson, thank you very much. we know you'll stay on it, ask all those questions. appreciate you very much. want to move along to

another story breaking at the top of last hour. one of the nation's top college quarterbacks just dodged an event that really could have entirely derailed his career. in this last hour, florida prosecutor said jameis winston will not be charged with rape. winston led the florida state seminoles to a 12-0 season, and is the front runner for a college football player's highest honor, that being the heisman trophy. in january, an fsu student accused winston of raping her. >> her recall of the events of that night have been moving around a good bit. there's some memory lapses, there were some major issues. and we were trying to determine about the memory lapse what would cause that, intoxication, some of you all might tell me would tell you have to memory loss.

sometimes drugs can cause you to have that. and we found no evidence of any kind of major impairment or use of drugs. >> joining me now here in the studio, barrett, bleacher report's lead writer. this is -- welcome, this is a huge, huge deal for him as we are, what, four days away from the end of heisman voting. but bigger picture, there were questions about the investigation. there was sort of one version of the police story, one version of the accuser's attorney's story. was this a surprise that he's cleared? >> i don't think so because it took basically a year from when the incident apparently happened to now, and 11 months for the state's attorney to even get the case, and willie meggs said they would have liked more time. they thought with more time, with more memories fresh in the minds of some of the people involved, maybe they would have more evidence to convict him or to press charges. i think after a year, memories fade. things happen. and i think the inconsistencies in the complainant's story, saying they were at a bar.

they took four or five shots, and in the end, the toxicologist having a .04 blood alcohol content, that made her very difficult to send to the stand and make her believable because there were so many inconsistencies. >> one of the questions growing up in the south, i don't know where you're from. >> here. >> you know certain towns, the football players are like gods walking around campus. so there were concerns, even within the police, the investigators, the detective, this was colored, tainted, because we're talking about who is potentially up for the heisman. his entire career could be derailed, and there were questions over whether or not they were saying to this accuser, hey, you may not want to come forward with this. >> yeah, i think, is that realistic? sure, in college towns, sure, the cops are fans of the team. they do some things to protect the team, but i think in this situation, with the seriousness of these charges, i think it's a little different because these cops and these detectives and the investigators, they have livelihoods, too. if there are improprieties,

they're evaluating the school over their own livelihoods and their families? i don't think that's the case. in some schools if a player gets druk and gets into a fight, are they going to cover it up? sure, that's going to happen. but because of the serious nature of this, i don't think that's realistic in this case, although there was the report that the initial detective in tallahassee said -- >> hey, this is tallahassee. >> a football crazy town. i think that can be viewed negatively, but it also is realistic. >> or it could be a heads up. prepare yourself. this is a huge fight. let me hit pause because i'm getting information from the control room. we now have -- what is it? the statement from the accuser's attorney. >> the victim in this case had the courage to immediately report her rape to the police and she relied upon them to seek justice. the victim has grave concerns that continues on, her experience as it unfolded in the public eye and through social media will discourage over

victims of rape from coming forward and reporting. we say this is an accuser, not a victim, because he was totally cleared of the charges. let me ask you this as far as football, and to her point, for many accusers, this is a bigger story. on football, four days uz way from the end of heisman voting. now that he's cleared, do you think that will taint the voting at all still? >> i don't think so. in this day and age, it's internet voting. you get your vote in by 5:00 on monday. jameis winston is going to win. he was the front runner. >> you're saying that right here, right now? >> absolutely. a lot of people were holding back their votes to see what happens because they don't want to give him their votes if he is arrested, but everyone else around him, johnny manziel, bryce petty, they lost the heisman. it's a one-man race, and that man is jameis winston. at this point, with no charges coming, i think it's almost a slam dunk that he's going to win.

>> a red-shirt freshman. >> two years in a row. >> thank you very much. bleacher report here. stay with me because coming up in about 20 minutes from now, we will hear from jameis winston's attorney. he will be speaking to reporters, and we'll have that live for you as well. also ahead here on cnn, you have heard reports, the nsa tracks your e-mails, your cell phone information. you know this, you've been watching cnn. did you know this? they are pinpointing locations and tracking those as well. new documents released say the nsa gathers nearly 5 billion records a day on whereabouts of people all around the world. that's coming up. also later in florida, more than 40 stranded whales, some of which are finally making their way back into deeper open water, john zarrella, our correspondent there in florida, took a boat to see what the rescuers did to help the whales. he he'll have an update for us.

and when it comes to classics, does it get bigger than the mustang? it's a beauty. see how the new muscle car looks at 50. not too shabby. stay with me, you're watching cnn. [ male announcer] surprise -- you're having triplets. [ babies crying ] surprise -- your house was built on an ancient burial ground. [ ghosts moaning ] surprise -- your car needs a new transmission. [ coyote howls ] how about no more surprises? now you can get all the online trading tools you need without any surprise fees. ♪ it's not rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade.

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five billion cell phone records all around the world tracked each and every day by the ns ark. this is according to the washington post today. this report is based on top secret documents leaked by former nsa contractor edward snowden. i want to go to brian todd in washington because my first question was, when we're talking cell phones, are we talking about our cell phones, american cell phones.

or just oversea snz. >> just overseas, but americans' cell phones overseas could be swept up in this. the nsa is not allowed to spy on americans. a senior intelligence official tells evan perez that the phone location tracking program focused only on foreign targets overseas, but millions of americans travel overseas even though the nsa says it doesn't intentionally target americans, the whereabouts of americans' cell phones overseas could be targeted incidentally, they say inadvertently, but they try to minimize the collection of american cell phone locations, and when it does get them, it tries to remove them from the database. >> with said cell phone information, what has the nsa said they're doing with this? >> this is where it gets really interesting. what they're trying to do is find the associates of people they're targeting for surveillance. if they're targeting a potential person for surveillance, they want to follow his associates.

they're follow his cell phone location. you get it from the cell phone towers. they transmit the cell phone location. they target his cell phone as he moved around the city, and they try to find the people, the cell phone signals moving with him or maybe meeting up with him, more than one time. and they track that as they go along. like if he moves from one point to another in a city and let's say 200 people randomly follow him from that one point to another, and then he moves to another location and maybe only 20 people follow him there, they're narrowing it down. that's where they can track maybe the one associate who stays with him as he moves around the city. and they do it all through cell phone location. your cell phone can emit your location even when you're not using it. sometimes even when it's not turned on. >> huh. brian todd, we'll look for more of you reporting with wolf in "the situation room." thank you very much. now a picture. the ford mustang looking sharp at age 50, huh? ford unveiling the new design of the iconic car to the world today.

this is ahead of the 50th anniversary. the 2015 mustang promises more power, better gas mileage, and an optional turbo-charged four cylinder engine. this is the first time since the 1980s. it will still have the classic shark bite front end. coming up, an update on the whales trapped in the shallow waters. very isolated location in the florida everglades. now many are making their way into deeper whats. we'll get an update from john zarrella. we'll talk to john coming up next. and speaker of the house john boehner saying today republicans could be a little more sensitive when it comes to their female counterparts. the gop's message to its candidates who are running against women. stay with me. bank of america credit card, which rewards her for responsibly managing her card balance.

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if you have been following the 40 or so beached whales, we have encouraging news for you. these are the pilot whales that have been stranded near everglades national park in florida. we have just gotten word that the whales that were stranded have now swum out to deeper waters. that's great news because that's what rescuers have been wanting to see happen the last couple days. and john zarrella, you were near those whales on a boat with those rescuers, john. tell me how it's going. >> yeah, brooke, well, you know that movie "miracle" about the whales in alaska. everybody has probably seen that. they had a miracle off the florida everglades in the west

coast today. during the overnight hours, the whales apparently decided they were done. they started swimming out to deeper water. by the time the rescue team got out there, by the time we got out there, the whales were gone. in an overflight by the u.s. coast guard, they spotted a pod of whales, about 40 of them, heading west, about 11 miles offshore. and the stranding team tells me, in fact just now, they have come back and they said it is consistent with that group of whales that were stranded. so they're very encouraged that the whales are gone. they're going back in deeper water, and that they will not likely come back to shore and strand themselves again. really kind of a miracle here down in the florida everglades. the whales, 40 of the 50, survived. no additional carcasses were found today, so that's good news. >> let me ask you quickly because i was talking to philipp cousteau last hour. he was saying in some cases, because of their hearing, they'll bang on pipes to get the

whales moving. was this -- i sound silly saying this, but was this a whale decision? i know they have a school mentality, to all sort of leave, or was it the rescuers who helped propel them away? >> when the rescuers left yesterday, they were still there, they were stuck, stranded. whatever it was that a lot of people will tell you, the whales were mourning the ones that had died. they're very bright creatures. and once the process was over, they all moved on. for whatever reason, during the overnight hours -- >> john, i wanted to hear the rest, but i have to pull away. thank you sore much. >> we want to go straight to the attorney for the fsu quarterback who we now know will not face any rape sex assault charges down in tallahassee. let's take a listen. this is jameis winston's attorney. >> but we were confident, he was confident. i think important to note, that the two eye witnesses that gave affidavits were there, saw what happened. those affidavits are important.

when you get the public documents, you'll see the eyewitness affidavits, that this was a consensual encounter. we believed it then, we believe it now. we're satisfied with the investigation. james is satisfied. i spoke with him a few minutes ago. i was with him. i spoke to his parents. i was with them. i talked to them on the phone, and they're completely satisfied that this is done. he can move forward. he actually had an exam at 1:00 today, so that's where he is. he's at practice. we'll try to make him available. i'm not sure if he'll give a statement, but he does have a written statement we'll pass out that he's provided at this point. if you have any questions, i'll be glad to answer them at this point. >> sorry? >> what was winston's reaction to the news? >> it was very -- he was very happy. i can tell you, he gave me a hug. it was nice. it was not relief, because he knew he didn't do anything. and he was like, you know, i

knew it just took time for the truth to come out. >> can you say what happened that night from his point of view? >> i think you'll find when you look at the reports, it was a consensual encounter between him and a young woman. two other witnesses were present there. clearly, the woman consented to whatever activity took place. she had no drugs in her system whatsoever. she was not intoxicated. you're going to see her actions when you see the reports. they'll vindicate that, clearly vindicate that. that's part of the problem that mr. meggs had with her story, just does not add up. >> law enforcement tells us it's very difficult for people like this to come forward. why would a young woman subject herself to a sexual assault kit, which by all accounts is extremely invasive, why in your opinion would she do that? >> sometimes you have regret. sometimes you have embarrassment. and sometimes you don't want to come forward with what really happened.

i have never spoken to the woman. i don't know. i wasn't there that night. all i know is what the reports say. the lab reports, what the eyewitnesses that were there. i think certainly any woman that is sexually assaulted should come forward. don't forget, in this case, she came forward very early. those toxicology tests were done in hours. so if there's any ambiguity about the test, that's not this case, and i heard mr. meggs talk about ghb and ruf anall. that's a case where it's a delayed report. sure, it's not going to be in the system. that's not this case. >> so you have been listening to jameis winston's attorney, speaking, talking reactionarily of what his client, who he has been defending here through these rape, sex assault allegations for the better part of this year, saying upon hearing the news as we heard last hour from the florida state attorney, that they will not be pressing -- no charges will be

coming up against this really star quarterback. this guy is a favorite for the heisman trophy. he's been having this hanging over him as he's been playing, been stellar on the field. just heard the attorney say he had an exam a couple hours ago. he's off the hook, and this young man may very well be winning the heisman in a matter of days. we'll wait and see, but saying relief. no, not relief because he knew he wasn't guilty, but glad this whole thing is done and wrapped up. coming up, let's talk about this guy, toronto mayor rob ford. some crazy new allegations surfacing today, and we'll have it for you next. [ male announcer ] this is george. the day building a play set begins with a surprise twinge. and a choice. take up to 4 advil in a day or 2 aleve for all day relief. [ male announcer ] that's handy. ♪ and better is so easy withrning you cabenefiber.o something better for yourself. fiber that's taste-free, grit-free and dissolves completely.

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bottom of the hour, i'm brooke baldwin. here's a question for you. does the gop need help when it comes to women? you remember republican senate candidate todd akin's comments last year explaining when it was okay for a woman to have an abortion. he said it was fine if the pregnancy was the victim of a rape, but only if it was quote/unquote a legitimate rape. and then after that, richard mourdock was slammed for saying even if life begins with rape,

it's something that god intended to happen. hint, this is not the way to win over women. so house speaker john boehner has a plan. that is to teach his party a thing or two about how to talk to women. >> trying to get them to be a little more tensensitive. you look around the congress. there are a lot more females in the democrat caucus than in the republican caucus. and you know, some of our members aren't as sensitive as they ought to be. >> chief congressional correspondent dana bash, when i hear the word sensitive, please explain. >> well, you know, brooke, you and i did a story on this whole concept of republicans reaching out to women, being aggressive in doing so a couple months ago. you remember i talked to some of the republican female members about how they were going about doing outreach, and also trying to explain to their male counterparts that there are some ways you speak and some ways you

shouldn't speak when you're trying to appeal to female candidates. when you're looking at the global problem with republicans, it's two things. one is there's a huge gender gap. it's not new, but it's a lot worse than it used to be. in 2012, mitt romney had the biggest gender gap in history, 12 points between he and barack oba obama. that's one thing, female voters. the other problem is they don't have -- >> members. >> enough members in order to roach out to the voters. and just look at these numbers. they're really stark. 232 members of the house republican caucus. 19, brooke, 19 of those are women. that's all. so they're trying to do two things. one is appeal to women to run. and try to get some of the female candidates running to win. but also try to get female voters to support their republican candidates, men or women. >> do you think john boehner is comp tntd in this sensitivity training? think it will work? >> you know, unclear.

unclear, but it is really, really interesting, just really quickly, what they're doing. it's broad media training. every candidate has it and both parties do it, but they're adding an element of explaining that, you know, not only should you not say the things that todd akin and others said when you're talking about rape and abortion, bu also, make yourself more human. this is men we're talking about. talk about yourself as a father and as a husband and things like that that men maybe don't normally do when they're, you know, doing policy as a politician. >> dana bash, thank you so much for me in washington today. coming up, the lyrics of bruce springsteen's born to run. this has been running through my head all day. on the auction block today. could you imagine the hand-written lyrics. the bidding had closed. what was the running price, do you think? we'll have that for you coming up. also, toronto mayor rob ford under fire again. new allegations that the mayor tried to buy a video that showed him smoking crack, and that's just the beginning of it.

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it is more than two weeks until the official start of winter for a big chunk of the country, it feels like wibter is here. in some places, this could get really ugly. i'm talking major power outages in arkansas and tennessee. that kind of thing shuts off electricity for weeks and weeks. farther west you go, denver woke up to miserable cold this morning. double digits below zero. feels colder in many cities, 24 degrees below. we get this, this is december,

but look at this. because from the snow we go to texas. you see that number? 80 degrees. that's how warm it was just yesterday. but tonight, that's when they get hit. freezing rain, sleet, a low of 26. dropping 54 degrees there. ed lavendera is in dallas where american airlines cancelling flights as a precaution. you're looking a little cold, ed. tell me about the flights. >> reporter: yeah, i'm not a big fan of the cold weather. we were standing here yesterday, as you mentioned, 80 degrees. now about 35 degrees. a 45-degree plunge in a little more than 24 hours. my favorite sight of the day, we're here at clyde warren park in downtown dallas. a lot of food trucks line up around here. the ice cream food truck just left the area. so i would imagine sales are incredibly slow. but the conditions will begin deteriorating rather quickly over the course of the next couple hours. to the north of us in oklahoma

and farther north in texas, already starting to hear reports of rain falling. the question is where this line will be, the dividing line between the freezing temperatures and where this rain falls. that will really determine how nasty this gets over the next couple of days. as you mentioned, american airlines at dfw airport, has already canceled, looking ahead, some 500 flights through tomorrow morning. this is a hub for american airlines. they don't want to get a lot of planes stuck here, unable to move. that's a thing that a lot of airports are dealing with and trying to figure out as well as schools and businesses as they'll be paying close attention to the conditions over the next 12 hours to see what they'll do tomorrow. >> ed lavendera, stay warm. for the record, always good weather for ice cream. >> let's talk about the snow and this wintry weather because i know, jennifer grey, it is cold and getting colder. >> yeah, it is. you know, when you wake up or you have temperatures yesterday in dallas at 80 degrees and now you're at 33, look at this. new orleans at 81. 33 in dallas, and even atlanta

at 70, and 42 in memphis. so this arctic air is continuing to push down to the south, and it's going to fill in across the southeast as we go through the next day or so. still getting a little bit of a mix across portions of missouri, even in northwest arkansas. we were mentioning dallas just a few moments ago. most of the freezing rain, the mix, is just to the north of the city, northeast of the city. we think there will be a little bit of accumulation inside dallas, the metroplex, but most of it, the hardest hit areas, will be north and east of the city, but there will be icy overpass overpasses, brings, could be down power lines, across dallas, little rock, even including nashville. this is something we'll watch tonight and tomorrow as well. >> we'll watch closely. you can also go to cnn.com for the latest weather updates. jennifer grey, ed lavendera, thank you both very much. let's talk economy. we learned today it grew more than anyone thought in the third

quarter of the year. the value of the goods and services produced in the u.s., kn gpd, gross domestic product, grew at 3.6%. that's good news. that's the strongest number since the beginning of 2012. so, has the economy turned around corner? our cnn global economic analyst and time assistant editor, it's nice to see you. some signs looking good, right? let me say, in addition to today's gdp report, new home sales, they just posted their biggest increase in more than three decades. look at auto sales, expected to end the year at their strongest level since the start of the great recession, so how out of the woods are we now? >> well, these are hopeful signs, no doubt. the gdp figure is sort of a mixed one because the stronger number is down to a build-up in inventory. for a long time, businesses just

weren't buying. they weren't stocking shelves. they were waiting for demand to pick up. now the shelves are empty. they have to get more inventory, so that has a knock-on effect in growth. i'm more interested in the home sales number. >> why? >> i think the housing market is really what most americans feel -- the majority of americans keep the majority of their wealth in housing. when you start to see growing numbers, this is really an important sign, if we get a couple more months of strong figures, we can be optimistic. >> that could be a har binger of things to come. when you look at the stock market, it's been on a tear this year as well. when you talk to americans. look at the number from the cnn/orc poll. 24% believe the economy is starting to recover. 39% think it's getting worse. >> yes. >> the skepticism, it's pervasive in the numbers. why? >> it's interesting. it's not just in this survey but in a lot of the consumer

confidence numbers. they were down very dramatically in october, down again in november. part of that was due to the fact you were seeing the government shutdown this fall, the problems with the rollout of obama care. there was this sense that the government is not getting its act together and it's a headwind to growth. but i think in another sense, you talk about the stock market being up. you have to remember that the top quarter of americans, the top 20%, 25% of americans, own 75% of the stocks. so sure, you feel that stock market ticking up if you're wealthy, but if you don't own a lot of stocks or you don't own a home in a strong -- >> you feel nothing. >> you're not really feeling that wealth effect. >> what about these -- we have been talking about these protests today by fast food workers. and the union, the community organizers. they want the minimum wage to more than double. they want it at $15 an hour. when you look at the pay gap, the president talked about that. we'll play some of that in a minute. it's been widening since the '70s. when you look at this, let me explain, see the blue swiggaly

line on the top? that represents the top 1%. their income, to your point, has been growing quite a bit. >> absolutely. >> the three lines below represent the rest of the country, and not a ton of growth there. so is there a reason to think that america can return to earlier times when more people shared in prosperity? you know? >> it's going to take some real shifts in the way the economy works to make that happen. so one of the reasons that we are still in, at this point, a 2% growth economy, even though we had this strong new quarterly number is the majority of americans aren't really feeling that recovery. wages have been flat. for the average american male worker, the wages have been flat since 1968. so in real terms, so when people haven't gotten a raise and don't have more money in their pockets, they're not spending. you don't see demand tick up, and that has an affect on the overall growth. this is a huge issue. the inequality issue and the

stagnant wage issue are the biggest problems. >> that's an indecter of the confidence and improvement. we'll be watching that. thank you very much. >> thank you. and now, i thought we were going to get to hear the song. no, no song today? here we go. ♪ baby we were born to run >> i mean, come on. we had to hear bruce. bruce springsteen's original handwritten lyric sheet for this song, born to run, has just sold for $197,000 at auction. the rough draft of the hit contained most of the lines of the 1974 version. it sold to a private bidder. if i had the money, i mean, can you imagine framing that on your wall? yes, please. coming up, a man in prison for 25 years for a crime he did not commit. chris cuomo sat down with this man for an incredibly powerful interview. we will play that for you ahead of this film airing tonight.

plus, toronto mayor rob ford under fire again. new allegations indicating this mayor tried to buy a video showing him smoking crack, and that's not the whole story. stay with me. [ female announcer ] thanks for financing my first car. thanks for giving me your smile. thanks for inspiring me. thanks for showing me my potential. for teaching me not to take life so seriously. thanks for loving me and being my best friend. don't forget to thank those who helped you take charge of your future and got you where you are today. the boss of your life. the chief life officer. ♪ yeah... try new alka seltzer fruit chews. they work fast on heartburn and taste awesome. these are good. told ya! i'm feeling better already. [ male announcer ] new alka seltzer fruits chews. enjoy the relief!

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toronto's crack-smoking mayor rob ford has a new problem because court documents indicate ford may have tried to buy that damaging cell phone video that appears to show him smoking crack from suspected gang members. apparently ford was willing to fork over thousands of dollars, even throw in a car. ford got testy today and issued a firm denial when a sports radio host asked him about it. here was that. >> what do you say to that? these are wiretapped from gang members who say that you offered $5,000 if not more, $150,000 on a car to confiscate the video of

you doing crack on the tape. what would you say to that? >> number one, that's an outright lie. number two, you can talk to my lawyers about it but i'm here to talk football. >> he veered that conversation back on track. jean casarez, our legal correspondent, joining me now here. the glaring question, one of the questions, i guess, is why hasn't he been charged with anything? >> that's a good question. let's look at the facts at this point. this investigation was massive. it was by the toronto police department but it wasn't against the mayor, it was against an alleged drug ring, and as the wiretaps were executed on 59 phone numbers and investigators are listening to these phone calls, they start to hear the name of mayor rob ford, the mayor of toronto. well, the investigation went on and they listened to a voice saying you know, i went to him with the video and he says i'll pay you $5,000 for that video plus a car, and the alleged drug

mobsters were saying that's ridiculous, it's at least worth $150,000 to us. so in that sense, they were trying to blackmail the mayor to try to say if you don't pay us, we're going to release this video. now, the video, alleged crack video, although police say they have it in their hands, has never been released. we don't see it. some reporters in canada have seen it. but throughout these conversations, they talk about rob ford, that he's going to crack houses, that he's getting drugs. even as i continue to research these documents that have been unsealed, i see that at one point, someone in an intercepted conversation says does he know how much marijuana, a slang term for pot, that he got from rob ford. that's distribution, right? but someone that says that doesn't mean that they are proving a crime. it's just an allegation at that point. >> still the mayor. jean casarez, thank you very much. falsely accused of his wife's murder in 1986, ripped from his precious 3-year-old son, convicted, sentenced to

spend the rest of his life in a texas prison, but after a 25-year battle, michael morton was exonerated. the real murderer discovered from dna evidence. this is the story told in the cnn film "an unreal dream" and morton spoke with chris cuomo about he spent all that time, how that time was spent in prison knowing all along he was innocent. >> i am probably the personification of that old axiom remember from school about you can't prove a negative. how do you prove you didn't do something. >> how rough was it inside? >> i never liked it but i got used to it. >> how long did it take you? >> probably 14 or 15 years. >> 14 or 15 years. >> to get where i was used to it. >> are the first years the hardest? >> the first years are hard just because it's a shock and it's new and it's constant

adjustment. constant recalibration. >> you say i always thought that i would get out. what fueled the hope? >> it's difficult for me to say whether it was just faith that i knew i was right and i wasn't guilty, that this would work out, or just that i didn't know how deep i was in. >> again, make sure you watch this incredible cnn film "an unreal dream." it airs tonight 9:00 eastern and pacific only here on cnn. coming up, pope francis is certainly making news a lot recently. today, the pope is launching a commission to prevent child abuse. reaction pouring in from all around the world. we'll be right back. once upon a time, an insurance clerk stumbled upon a cottage. [knock] no one was at home, but on the kitchen table sat three insurance policies. the first had lots of coverage. the second, only a little.

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it is a problem that has plagued the catholic church for decades upon decades. i'm talking about child abuse. we reported on this scandal after scandal involving priests and young children from all around the world. well, now pope francis has had enough. he is launching a commission to help prevent the abuse of children and eric marapoti, let me bring you in, cnn senior producer. welcome to you, sir. >> thanks, brooke. >> the church has taken hits in the past clearly for not reporting these cases, the myriad cases of child abuse. the pope saying they have been

too focused on the judicial aspects of child abuse like fighting of lawsuits. tell me what this new commission will do exactly. >> this commission is doing just what you said. they are looking to get out there and figure out what policies are in place around the world in the catholic church, what needs to be changed to do more to protect children. they're looking at everything from background checks, more psychological evaluations of priests entering seminary, they are looking at who interacts with children, lay workers in the church, and are looking to bring lots of experts on to this panel that will advise the pope directly. it's a big step for them and lots of folks are saying within the church it's a step in the right direction. >> from the u.s. standpoint, this is something we have been dealing with for years and years but globally, what's the impact of something like this? >> earlier this week on monday, the pope met with the bishops from holland. in the last 30 years, they had something like 20,000 cases of sexual abuse of minors. he said to them specifically priests have fallen short, made mistakes, and you need to care for the victims as well. that's something that we have seen this pope saying very

specifically as well, care for the victims to try to turn this from just judicial to a pastoral how to care for the victims and protect children. they have to look at all these things. in the u.s., our point bishop for the catholic church has been cardinal sean o'malley. he's on the pope's council that's advising him on big changes across the entire church. he was out front today at a press conference with reporters. he appears to be taking the lead in that small group of cardinals advising the pope on this specific issue. before i let you go, universal pictures paying tribute to the late actor paul walker and his on-screen legacy. he was part of one of, really, the studio's biggest franchises they had ever seen. >> people in this room right here, right now, salute.

>> some of paul walker's "fast and furious" moments released online in the wake of his death. production for the seventh "fast and furious" movie has been officially halted. i'm brooke baldwin. thank you so much as always for being with me today. see you back here same time tomorrow. "the lead" with jake tapper starts now. happy repeal day! take it easy, obama care fans and foes. i'm talking about repealing prohibition. it ended 80 years ago this hour. cheers! i'm jake tapper. this is "the lead." the world lead. it's the city where terrorists attacked and killed a u.s. ambassador and three other americans more than a year ago. today, another u.s. citizen has been slain in benghazi, libya. who was ronald thomas smith ii? can his family expect justice? the national lead. with his son's suicide, this has been the worst year of pastor rick warren's life but he has relied on his faith to get parough it.